Creating a Template (Part I): The Basics
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart1.htm

Barnhill, Suzanne
Word MVP Site, The
2005

Abstract:

The natural tendency of most users of word processing applications is to create a document and use it as a model for future documents. That is, you format a letter the way you want all (or most) of your letters to look, save it, and then, when you want to write a letter, open this document and save it under another name as the starting point for your letter. In WordPerfect, until recently, this was the only way to create a template. Word uses a different approach.